It’s crazy to think that randomly planning my trip it ended up I would be in Rome during Easter weekend. I was all planned and ready for it. Reserved my ticket for the Vatican Museum… check! Made it to the convent/guesthouse I was staying at… check! Picked up my tickets for the Easter Vigil and Easter Mass… check! 

 

The place where I was staying was super nice. I had my own room and a private bathroom. Such a good change from the hostels I have been staying at. The problem with this though was that it was awfully hard to meet people. I decided that Rome may just be one of those cities I will do along. That wasn’t the case. I met amazing people in this city. Standing in line for 3.5 hours for the Easter vigil I met Martha from Portugal. I hung out with her for most of the time. Met a girl from Ukraine and a bunch from America where I later hung out with. A group of people even shared their dinner with me in line since I hadn’t had dinner yet. While waiting for the Easter Sunday mass I saw a girl who I had met the night before. Even flying out of Rome a girl I had met in Venice was on the same plane. It was if God was providing the people I needed on this trip. 

 One of the most significant moments in Rome was attending the Easter vigil mass. First of all, I talked to several people in line who said that it was difficult to get these tickets. They had written the Vatican but got no replies. I felt very lucky and blessed to have gotten tickets. It was such a solemn service reminding me of what this night is about. This was the Saturday before the resurrection of Jesus. The night before everything changed. Growing up Catholic it was a memorable experience to be a part of this mass with the pope leading it. No words can really express what God was doing in me that night. He was present and was moving. I look forward to seeing his presence in the next part of my trip… the Camino de Santiago.